William Thompson

Dr. William Thompson is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Nature-based Solutions Initiative. He leads the development of the High Agricultural Reforestation Potential (HARP) Toolkit, focusing on sustainable reforestation in cocoa and coffee-producing tropical agricultural landscapes. He also contributes to the ETH Zurich-led Sustain-Cocoa project, analyzing forest-focused supply chain policies in West Africa.

Education

• BSc in Biology (University of Bristol)
• MSc in Environmental Technology (Imperial College London)
• PhD in Food Systems Resilience (ETH Zurich)

His research explores interactions between food systems and ecosystems, emphasizing climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and equitable agricultural supply chains. Key projects include weather risk transfer mechanisms for Tanzanian maize farmers and evaluating climate resilience in cocoa and banana value chains.

Recent publications focus on agroforestry potential, deforestation dynamics, regenerative agriculture, and policy impacts in West African cocoa supply chains. His work integrates social and natural science approaches across tropical agricultural systems.